Lifestyles

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Opinions expressed in this episode are personal. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this streaming platform. [00:00:15] Speaker B: Good day, everyone, and welcome to another edition of let's be diverse. I am your host, Andrew Stout. This episode is dedicated to all my loved ones who supported me through this journey. One of the things that I've been talking about a lot lately with many people is different lifestyles and how you can have a healthy lifestyle and importantly, how lifestyles can help you in many different areas, including the workplace. So today I thought I would delve into this topic and I have an amazing guest that will help me to discuss this topic and I'm so happy to have her on. Her name is Nicole Arsenal. Now, Nicole is a distinguished co owner of three thriving clinics since 2006 with a passion for integrative functional medicine and fitness. In 2023, Nicole expanded her commitment to holistic well being by founding inner strong fitness, a transformative space that not only promotes optimal health, but also fosters personal and professional growth among its dedicated workforce. Nicole's life journey is a testament to resilience, overcoming childhood adversity and personal challenges, from navigating poverty to a parent's opioid addiction to conquering functional illiteracy. At 16, she consistently harnessed her inner strength for remarkable personal growth. With two university degrees and a wealth of knowledge from health and fitness courses, Nicole extends her influence to the realm of fitness modeling and writing. As a contributing author to the Mom Magic anthology, third book, she shares her inspiring story and insights. I met Nicole on LinkedIn and she's a remarkable individual, super passionate about what she does and I will say super friendly as well. I'm sure you're going to enjoy having her on today. Welcome to the show, Nicole. I'm so happy to have you on today. [00:02:17] Speaker C: Thank you for having me, Andrew. [00:02:18] Speaker B: You're very welcome. How are things in your neighborhood? What's going on? What's new? Tell me all the deets. [00:02:25] Speaker C: I don't know if there's anything new. We talked the other day and I love the way we can just pick up where we left off. Like, we have been friends for 20 years and I'm sure others in your circle feel the same way. You're very easy to talk to. [00:02:38] Speaker B: Oh, I appreciate that. That is a very nice compliment. I will take that and I appreciate it and receive it. I'm glad to hear that things are going well. I know you're a busy lady on the go with business, and I know you got some active kids in sports and stuff like that, so you're seem to be always on the go. And for me, that is a good demonstration of how leadership is. So you seem to be the leader of the household. You seem to have everything all under control. And along with your partner, you guys are the glue of the household. And I think that's super important. [00:03:10] Speaker C: Sure is. Without someone that has the exact same mindset with respect to how you would like to live your life, it's difficult to manage. But Lee and I have been together for 25 years, believe it or not, I don't feel that old, but. And we have always been able to work together as a team. We did our university degree together, and from there, we just. We built businesses and our family, and we've always put God first and really have brought together our ideologies and drive. You have to be with someone that is as driven as you are. And we were able to do that, too. Create everything we have that's important. [00:03:52] Speaker B: It's super, super important. So before we delve into all the good stuff today, I always have a fun question to ask my guests to get things going. Are you ready for your question, Nicole? [00:04:04] Speaker C: I'm not sure if I'm ready. We gave it a try. [00:04:06] Speaker B: So my question is, what is the one thing you wish could exist but does not at the moment thing that could exist? [00:04:15] Speaker C: It does not at the moment in the world. In my personal life, sure, you can go either way. [00:04:22] Speaker B: There's no right or wrong answer here. [00:04:24] Speaker C: Oh, jeez. This is a hard one, Andrew. There isn't. Okay, so there isn't a lot in my personal life that I wish exists, because I'm a very driven person. I will keep moving towards goals and attaining them. So in that respect, in our business world, we've done the exact same thing. In our professional world, we just keep putting goals in place and, like, hammering at them until we level up. Now, the world is a mess right now. So there's a lot of things that could change there. It could be peace. There could be less poverty. You could have me going on for hours. So there are a lot of things in the world that can change right now without getting too political or bringing in religion or anything like that. But, yes, I do believe that there's much improvement that could be done in the world today. [00:05:11] Speaker B: So I will tell you before I press record, you were worried about this question. I love doing these questions at the beginning. I love to hear the answers from people. And for somebody that did not know what the question was ahead of time, I love your answer. I do love the peace and poverty you're right. There's a lot of stuff. Then we can have another discussion on that stuff. Absolutely. But I do love that one thing that I wish that existed more would be people smiling a little bit more. I feel a lot of people don't smile enough as it is. So when I see somebody smiling, I always make sure to mention it that I notice you're always smiling all the time. Keep smiling. It makes a huge difference. And when someone smiles a lot, even if you don't see them, you can always tell they're doing it even if you're talking to them on the phone. So for me, that would be one thing that I would say for sure, is that I wish that smiling existed more. [00:06:06] Speaker C: I think ever since the pandemic, people are much more reactive than they were prior. I think that's an important one too. Bringing down reactivity, having more patience and grace and mercy in different situations. That would be good too. See, we could go on forever. We really could. [00:06:24] Speaker B: We could. Absolutely. So why don't we start off today with you telling us a little about you, your story, and of course, your why. [00:06:32] Speaker C: Okay, let me share my story, really. A journey of resilience and a deep commitment to integrative functional medicine and fitness. Lee and I have owned three functional medical clinics since 2006. Professional path has been one of continuous growth and evolution. In 2023, I really saw a gap in our business because we had a lot of people coming to us for weight loss needs and just really overall wellness needs that needed to be addressed. We'll say. So I embarked on a new chapter by finding inner strong fitness. This is an innovative addition to our existing ventures. So this extension represents a passion and dedication to holistic well being where women undergo transformational journeys towards optimal health by tapping into their inner strength. It's really beyond the role of the brand itself. So inner strong fitness to me is a movement of personal and professional growth, not just for my clients, but for the dedicated women working within the business itself. My personal narrative is really one of triumph over adversity. So from navigating childhood challenges in a context of positive and my mother's opiate addiction to overcoming illiteracy when I was 16, my journey really is a testament of resilience and inner strength. The journey includes academic achievements like you've already gone through all of them, my two degrees, extensive courses that I've taken in my forties. I became a multi published fitness model and writer, which was super exciting. A new chapter in my journey. I was contributing author to that third book of mama magic that was nice. That actually was very. I don't know. When you write your life story down on paper, there's something healing about that. And I just released it all in words. So that was a very important part of my journey, for sure. And then, of course, my story extends to being a mom of three. I'm very active in my parenting, Lee and I live a distance away from our immediate families, so we are very involved in our children's activities. We're essential part of their world, like making sure that everything can be done. It's a very important part of our life. Last night, for instance, we were just sitting on the couch watching a movie and I was reflecting in the moment and just. That is such a special aspect. We've had a very crazy busy week, but we just come together just for that personal bonding and so on. Honestly, the real aspect of my brand is really that nothing's impossible without inner strength. And the women that have come to be part of my community all really reflect that. And add to that, I always say they're on fearless journeys and they really are. [00:09:30] Speaker B: Wow. So there's so much that I want to pack into there. First off, the first thing that I noticed when we met was that you were resilient, for sure, very strong willed and wanting to do better. So I definitely noticed that in the first few moments that we were speaking that very first time. And I love that you were so adaptable in your life that you were able to figure stuff out, see where you want it to be, and you adapt it and you continue to adapt throughout your life, even later stages. So I think that's important and I think that's super important as a leader to be able to adapt and look at situations and be able to figure out, okay, this is not working. I need to do this so that it'll work a little bit better. I think if we stick to the same things all the time, I think that's when we get the word a lot of people use is stuck. So I love that you are someone who is not stuck or doesn't feel stuck, that when there's something that needs to happen, you react to it right away and make that change. Some things, obviously, I'm sure, don't go as planned, but you just adapt. And that's the important thing is when we don't try, then we don't know if something is going to be successful. Those are things that jumped out at me in your story there, for sure. [00:10:41] Speaker C: I think you really captured growth mindset. You're right there was actually someone responding to one of my posts on social media this week that were indicating that. I don't remember the exact quote, but the essence was that I am an individual. I have my set ways and this is the way I live my life and I'm never going to change that. And I thought, what a closed minded way of looking at who you are. Because we are constantly evolving. And if we evolve in a way where we learn from not only our experiences but our exposures, we can really experience fulfillment in such a more profound way than we would have if we just said, no, I'm not bringing anything else in. I'm just going to be who I am right here in this moment. Absolutely agree with you. [00:11:30] Speaker B: For sure. For sure. What I'd like to know is, in your opinion, what defines a person's lifestyle? [00:11:35] Speaker C: To me, the definition of lifestyle is really multifaceted. It encompasses a broad spectrum of choices and values and activities that collectively shape your daily existence. Like a lifestyle is essentially your unique individual choices to live and express yourself through like behaviors, through habits. So at its core, lifestyle includes conscious decisions people make regarding their health, their well being. This involves dietary choices, exercise, overall physical activity. For instance, someone who prioritizes regular exercise, maintains a balanced diet and practices stress management techniques, is reflecting on a health consciousness aspects of lifestyle. So really beyond physical activity, right. Lifestyle also extends into the realm of, like, personal and professional pursuits. So, like career, for instance, your career choices, your daily routine, your recreation activities, these all contribute to the composition of one's lifestyle. Even a person's hobbies and social interactions and how they spend their leisure time are integral components of that and defined what their lifestyle really is. Forget values and beliefs, too, play a crucial role in developing your lifestyle. And they're really influenced by culture, your religion, your personal convictions, the principles that you really hold dear to your heart as an individual. Your ethical considerations, too, right? I think lifestyle is huge. It's an amalgamation of habits, choices, activities across different domains in your life. [00:13:24] Speaker B: I love everything that you said there, when you said your unique choices. I think that in your lifestyle or your professional life, your unique choices will take you where you want to go, for example, yourself, in your personal life or in anybody's personal life. We decide what we want to do. Do we want to have a healthy lifestyle? Do we want to get our kids involved in sports? These are choices. And then when we go into our personal life, our own unique choices are, how do you want to be? What type of job do you want to do? What field do you want to do. What do you want to do as a career? And then as a leader, we say, how do I want to be as a leader? Do I want to be an empathetic leader or do I want to be a hard nosed leader? What kind of leader do we want to be and how do we think that our teams and our people will respond to those? So I definitely love your unique choices there. Values and beliefs are super important to me, personally and professionally. Personally, I think you have to have values and you have beliefs and those are important to you, and those are things that are going to help you to be successful in a professional world. As far as like a leader or a company. When you put like, say, values per missions and visions on your company website, then you have to understand that when you're putting those out there, these are things that you value and that you believe in, not just to put them out there, because you feel like you need to have them on there. So I love everything that you packed in there. To me, those are super important, unique choices, values and benefits. [00:14:54] Speaker C: Absolutely. And I love the way you said that whatever you choose to do professionally, or whatever you choose to put out there on social media, that's who you are, that's who you're representing as an individual. It has been the absolute importance to Lee and I that in our business ventures, that our businesses define who we are as an individual. Advanced medicine, which is the Advancedmedicine cA, is that initial hub of businesses that we opened. It has always been about encapsulating what our lifestyle and what our life is all about. We trial everything before we bring it out to clients. That's how important it is to us. We go out and research pharmaceutical grade nutraceuticals, for instance, natural products. We actually get samples from the companies first. We get to show us all of their research to ensure that the quality control is there for our families, because we don't only use it on ourselves. We don't want to get sick. We don't want our children to get sick because we use them with our children as well. So it's a very family oriented business. It's not only about lifestyle for your children, but it's your lifestyle too. So that brings it into play. And then even with inner strong fitness, same sort of thing about using your inner strength for optimal health. And it's, and I always tell the ladies of my community, it's not about an investment in you, it's in your future as well. Because your children learn so much by just watching what you're doing, watching your lifestyle, and they will adopt those things into their future. [00:16:33] Speaker B: So what is the difference between lifestyle and life? [00:16:38] Speaker C: Like we said, lifestyle encompasses specific and often your habitual ways, right? In which you choose to live your particular life. It revolves around your choices, your preferences, your behavior. It shapes your daily routine. It encompasses your diet, your exercise, your work, your leisure, your social. So essentially, lifestyle is tangible and absorbable aspects of your existence, the structure of your existence. Now, when I think about life, I think this is broader and more encompassing term. It's really a sum of an individual's daily practices. I would think life encompasses the entirety of one's existence, including their experiences, the relationships they choose to have, their personal growth, the journey that they are essentially just being alive, like including tangible, intangible aspects. So your emotions, I think, come into play here. Your memories that you've built, your pursuit for personal goals, the fact that you would like to reach fulfillment, I think those are important things when you're talking about life. So really, lifestyle is a subset of your life. So lifestyle focuses on, like, observable and immeasurable aspects, maybe of an individual's life, whereas life really encompasses like, holistic and multifaceted experiences of being alive. [00:18:12] Speaker B: I definitely think the two go together for sure. I was curious to see when I wrote that question, I wanted to see what your thoughts are. And I love your answers, especially when you said the sum of individual daily practices, when you talked about life. I just love that answer. And I truly believe as well that, yes, we make our own choices. I talk a lot about diversity of thought, and it's basically the different ways that we do things. So when you think about the two, it's our lifestyles and our life. We all have a different way of living our lifestyles, and we all have a different way of living our lives. That's when I think about diversity of thought, when I wrote that question, and it's all different. Some people think their way is right. Other people think their way is right. I don't look at it that way. I think it's just a different way of looking at stuff. And we talked about values before. What you think is important to you is how you live your life and how you're going to create your own lifestyle. [00:19:10] Speaker C: You know what I think, too, Andrew? I think life really delves into your what and why. Like, when you look at life and then lifestyle is you putting your what and why into practice. That's what I get out of that. [00:19:21] Speaker B: I love that. Nicole, do you think that the way people view the importance of their lifestyle is ever changing. Do you see that with people that you're talking to? Is it changing or are they talking about that more and looking at that more? We talked about the pandemic earlier, too. Have you noticed that there's been a difference since the pandemic, or is it just continually changing regardless? [00:19:46] Speaker C: Okay, so when we first got into functional medicine and opened the clinics, people. So this is going back 20 years ago, right? So we've really seen the evolution of this. So this question was really interesting to me. So when we started out, people were really into going to see their family doctor, getting their diagnosis, taking the medication that the doctor gave them, and they would just not ask any questions, they would just do as they were told. That has really changed, in my opinion, over the last 20 years. People research stuff, and I think the advent of social media really assisted with this. People have research at their fingertips. They can look stuff up now, whereas this was not the case before, and then it was amplified during the pandemic. Okay, so at this point, people really had a noticeable shift, in my opinion, with their perceived notion of what lifestyle actually was like. People are like, am I supposed to be living the rat race, or should I be prioritizing my lifestyle, asking to work at home? And I know they were forced to at that point, but after that, they were like, I need to take trips with my family. And it could be during the school year, who cares? Like, we need to prioritize the things that are important to us. So I really think that the pandemic act as a catalyst to allow for a profound mindset shift, particularly in a way where people were reevaluating their values, if you would, and rethinking the importance of their overall existence. I think that's what we're really seeing there. So there's unprecedented challenges, of course, that were brought to us with the pandemic. People were worried about their health. I've never seen people use sanitizer the way they had. And I'm thinking to myself, you're completely disrupting your immune system. But in their eyes, it was a safety factor, right? So there was a physical health component of it, but then there was a mental well being and a lifestyle choice, and then people face these lockdowns, and then there was health concerns and disruptions to their regular routines. And then all of a sudden, staying healthy was like center stage. I don't know how many people started doing transformations from their basements and started working out. You couldn't buy exercise equipment anywhere if you tried it just wasn't possible. So I think people really had a shift where they were starting to use a more functional medical trying to find the root or the actual cause of the disruption in their system, why they were sick. And then don't get me started on long COVID like people are then now coming in with, I have these long COVID effects and they're not going away. Like I had this incredible assault on my immune system and now I need to rectify that. So their journey now is not any longer about, oh, that 16 week diet. I'm going to do it and then I'm just going to go back to my old habits. People are now making the shift I need to have a healthy lifestyle because I'm not going to last, you know what I mean? Like they're saying now I really need to. I guess it's really the pandemic induced like a collective realization that resilience and inner strength are crucial. Right. We need to focus on self growth and self development, become more prominent people to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity. And that's why inner strong came out of all of this, because they really needed to tap into that inner strength for transformative health that was really aligning with people's mindset, evolving. So really a changing landscape for sure. Andrew, elevating the importance of lifestyle choices beyond mere preferences now it is now seen as a fundamental aspect of well being and being strong and, and muscular instead of being skinny and unhealthy is really what people want. Right. There's that mindset. Shift is palatable with that increasing numbers of individuals acknowledging a long term lifestyle on health and embracing practices that both promote physical and mental resilience. [00:24:06] Speaker B: I love everything that you packed in there. And yes, I totally agree with you. I think it has changed and I think it's going to continue, continue to change. Personally, I would say it's changed because, yes, people are looking out for themselves, for their health, people are looking at their families, making sure that everyone's doing the things that they need to do to stick around and to live a longer life. And professionally, I would say there has been a lifestyle switch, especially where people are looking for new careers, that before it was all about the money. And yes, we need money to pay our bills, whatever. But what's more important to people now is we talked about values. What's the values of the company? What's the mission, the vision? What type of manager am I going to be working for? Are they an empathetic leader or they I hate that word toxic. But are they a toxic leader? So these are things that people have been looking into and they're more important. And they're asking these things when they're going for interviews and stuff to see what type of job and what type of company. They're looking at the websites and they're looking at stuff and asking people what that company is like. Because yes, if the money is nice, but they spend 8 hours there, you spend more time at work than you do with your families at most times. So you need to have that lifestyle that is comfortable with you and conducive so that you are not like lying in bed going, oh my God, I got to go in that place again. You don't want to have that. So I do agree with you 100%. I think it's changing. I think we have a ways to go, but I think it's on the cusp of changing and I think it's conversations like this that are going to help it to get better, for sure. [00:25:44] Speaker C: Absolutely. I completely agree. My son's in grade seven right now and he keeps asking what am I going to do with the rest of my life? And because they have to go into high school with this perceived notion now exactly of what kind of path they're going to take, they have to have some idea. So we had this wonderful conversation yesterday about really thinking about what your God given talent is and what you were given and you don't believe in God. That's okay because you have an innate ability and natural things within you that allow you to reach fulfillment, meaning what makes your heart sing as a vocation. I have been teaching people since I've been three years old. I would teach my neighbors like when I was a kid. So what I've told them is think about what you role played as a child, right? What are the things that you did? What are your God given talents? I've met people that are fantastic. They can draw, they're fantastic artists and they've never had any training a day in their life. Some people have beautiful voices. You do your job for 30 years, there would be nothing worse than having to go and hate it every single day that you do it for 30 years. That would be terrible. I honestly, with everything that I've chosen to do professionally, I am as passionate about it the day I started as I am over 20 years later. That, and you know what? I would do it even if they didn't pay me. I love it. It's what I do. So I think your listeners need to know that you need to find what brings you passion so that you can live a fulfilled life. [00:27:21] Speaker B: Yep, yep. Passion and clarity, for sure. I definitely agree with you 100%. So if you could choose one word to describe yourself, Nicole, what word would that be? [00:27:33] Speaker C: As I sit here are a few words that I would pick, but if I have to pick just one, I really think the word resilient encapsulates my essence or who I am. This resonates deeply with my life story and my experiences and really has helped shape the person I am today. Resilience, in my eyes, is the capability to bounce back from adversity, to withstand challenges, to adapt and grow in the face of difficulties that are thrown at you. Like we talked about right in the beginning of that, my life has been marked with all kinds of different things that I've had to overcome over the years, and you've mentioned many of them. I really feel that every experience, experience that we are given allows to develop us or develop the skills that we need to bring forward our journey to the next step. Right. Like the fact that I grew up in poverty and I had to help my mom with her mental health, and I remember as young as five years old, helping her with these things that allowed me to be resilient, because I really needed to push forward each day in order to do these things. And then overcoming my illiteracy at 16, I knew I wanted a better life, and I couldn't do that without education. So education was the key for that. So I would keep going with respect to that. And then as I got older, resilience was definitely in there when I was working full time and getting my biochem degree with a minor in math, so it was definitely there. And then in my professional endowment endeavors and in my personal life, I just kept plugging away. So, in essence, to me, resilience captures everything about all the complexities that life has thrown at me, and it's allowed me to be strong, courageous, and committed to continuous growth. No matter what's brought to my attention. It's profound for people to understand that challenges will come, roadblocks will come. Life is never a straight, linear path. It is really a roller coaster ride, if you would, right? And it's how you deal with those adversities in the moment that will empower transformation, will empower change, will allow your journey to continue with the traits that shape you so that you can have fulfillment, because fulfillment's the most important part. [00:30:01] Speaker B: I love that word for you. I think you were one of the most resilient, strong powerful people that I have met, and I admire you. I know you admire me, and I think that's probably why we. We got along so right from the get go and why we continue to. And I think that word fits to a t, for sure. [00:30:21] Speaker C: I would probably use drive, too, when I was thinking about it, because I get an idea in my head, and nothing is stopping me. A lot of people are not like that, but I don't know what it is. I just. I don't know. I get hyper focused and I just. [00:30:36] Speaker B: Go, there's nothing wrong with that. You get the drive, you try it out, and like I was saying earlier, if it doesn't work, you move on to the next thing. Say, at least I tried it, rather than saying, you know, I should have tried that. I should have tried that. Or what if I should have, or the what ifs, right? I could say that for myself. I had this idea of starting a podcast. I thought it was going to be, you know, a fun pastime, hobby type thing, and I didn't want to say to myself, what if I started that? Or why didn't I start that? Or I should have started that. I got a couple of kicks in the butts from people to say, just do it, and I did it, and I'm here, and I'm happy that I'm here to have these amazing conversations. I think they're important, and I think they are of value to many. So I love it. [00:31:24] Speaker C: Think about all the people that you've met, all the connections and all, like, from when you started, right? And you didn't think you were gonna have any. How many episodes are you at now? This is the episode. [00:31:34] Speaker B: Oh, I think I've. I think I've loaded probably about 50. I think I'm at, like, 55 or 56 episodes at this point for those who are listening. So, yeah, it's something that. It's good. It's something that I'm proud of, and it gives you, like you talked about passion before. I got passion for this, and I want to see where it can go, where it could take me, for sure. [00:31:58] Speaker C: I think you're on a fabulous path, and I really appreciate you having me on the show. I learned a lot, and I love our discussions. I can't wait to. I'm only on episode 25. That's why I didn't know how many there were. So I'm going to continue binge listening on my morning walks. I love it. Thanks for providing all of the. I know there are a lot of work, so I appreciate all the effort you put in getting these episodes ready for us. [00:32:24] Speaker B: I appreciate that feedback, and I appreciate you. And those are very kind words. Any final thoughts today? Other than what you just said? Any final thoughts? [00:32:36] Speaker C: I feel like we covered so much in 40 minutes or so. My final thoughts would be, life is short. I really tell myself every day or force myself every day to make every second count. We're only here for a short time. We never know when our time is done. So make every second count. And always know that the body will achieve whatever the mind believes. And if you truly believe that in your core, anything is possible and you can live the most profound life of fulfillment. Which is what? Which is why we're here, right? We're here to make memories and to have experiences and to. We were meant to interact with one another. And I know the pandemic pulled us away from that. But doing exactly what you're doing, Andrew, even if it's on the online space, meeting people, interacting with people, and now it's possible to do it in such a wide spectrum and learn from each other, that was a lot. Again. But you get what I mean, right? Like, make every second count. [00:33:41] Speaker B: I appreciate your kind words. On behalf of myself and my guest Nicole, I'd like to thank you all for listening today. And until next time, everybody remember that if we all work together, we can accomplish anything. [00:33:57] Speaker A: You have been listening to. Let's be diverse with Andrew Stout. To stay up to to date with future content, hit subscribe.